A neighborhood road to nowhere

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:29-37 (NIV)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

After attending a meeting this past Monday evening at Carter Park called by Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bobby DuBose to sort out the thoughts and directions for extending the historic name of Sistrunk Boulevard eastward to include both the city’s historically Black community with the white, it reminded me of the time when Fort Lauderdale was rated the 10th most racist city in the nation.

In an article dated June 20, 2013 written by Shannon Vezina, Public Information Specialist: The City of Fort Lauderdale has been named winner of the National Civic League’s 2013 All-America City Diversity and Inclusiveness Award.

During that exchange of viewpoints concerning “the name of a street” one could feel, hear and see the apprehensions represented by racial disconnect.

The negativity, which flowed with such ease, spewed without restraint from the lips of one outsider that one readily knew that this has been rehearsed over a multitude of times in the presence of those who obviously agreed with him.

To come into a neighborhood meeting and try to demoralize its residents by refering to them as drug dealers, prostitutes and other criminals, a person would have to be mentally disordered or just downright disrespectful toward that community.

The disconnect became that much clearer when the statement was made from a city com-missioner that the time was not right for a connecting of the two parties in difference.

I thought about Brown vs the Board of Education comment stating: “With all deliberate speed”.

One resident summed it this way:

“As a business owner and resident of the Sistrunk Community, I was shocked and personally offended to witness an elected official and a sitting member of the City Commission speak of my community with such disparity. When Commissioner Trantalis commented on the sentiments of some people in his district and how they felt that Sistrunk is associated with crime and drugs, he spoke it with conviction. He never said that he disagreed with them or that they were misinformed. He never said that during his conversations with them he corrected them in their assumptions or offered a broader viewpoint. He tried to qualify his statements and spoke about the sentiments as though he was in agreement. I did not see the point of him repeating the negative and hurtful comments about our community to us if he could not also repeat his objection to them. The misinformation of the Flagler residents does not really surprise me, but as a sitting commissioner with access to police reports for all communities past and present as well as access to the history of all communities past and present, the silence of Commissioner Trantalis offering no objection to these comments is reproachable.” – Sonya Burrows

After it’s all been said and done I pray that we are not traveling the road to nowhere only to have fallen off into a den of thieves where we are continually robbed of our possessions and left to die alone.

Where are the Good Samaritans?

“Dear Lord, the roads we travel may be lined with all kinds of travails and mischief. My prayer to You is to place in my way a caring soul and a good neighbor and a resting place at the end.” — Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

When God is the Engineer and Designer of the road, He knows all of the pit falls.